What I Just Finished Reading: Stuck to my rotation plan! Two books and a short story this week: The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes (prompt), Ushers by Joe Hill, and Every Last Secret by AR Torre (dusty bookshelf). Reviews below.

What I'm Reading Right Now: I'm almost done with Allergic to Death by Peg Cochran, which I only picked up because I needed a "allergy" book to fill my final Save The Bees prompt. Sometimes reading to prompts allows me to discover amazing books I'd never have found otherwise. Sometimes it's like this one, which is not great, but I'm barreling through.

What I'm Planning to Read Next: Still rotating, with the addition of two library books because I have no willpower. For the next three I will probably pick between Tales of Old Earth by Michael Swanwick (prompt), Fire & Ash by Jonathan Maberry (finish what you started) and Aurora by David Koepp (library).

This weekend I'm going to put up my Christmas tree so I'm not sure how much reading time I'll have :)

( 131. The Shining Girls by Lauren BeukesCollapse )

( 132. Ushers by Joe HillCollapse )

( 133. Every Last Secret by AR TorreCollapse )
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I'm sure no one has dropped cards in the mail just yet, but I've got an update on our postal service here in Canada. The postal union has just announced yesterday that they are in strike mode effective this Friday, November 15th. Canada Post has also announced that they are ready to lock out the workers also on Friday. The postal workers have been working without a contract for over a year so I totally back them on this, and of course choosing Christmas to potentially walk out makes the most sense. Hit 'em where it hurts.

Right now they are talking potentially rotating strikes (which I personally think don't work.) Regardless, I'm not going to be mailing anything until more announcements are made and I know what's going on, and I'd advise anyone who was thinking of sending me a card to hold off as well.

I'll update when I know more!
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It's that time of year, folks!

Once again I would love to send out Christmas, Hannukah, or holiday cards to my friends here on LJ and DW. If you've received a card from me in the past you can expect one again... if you've moved or you just don't want one this year, just let me know.

And if anyone else would like to receive a card, please send me a DM with your info. The more the merrier.

gilda_elise and haldoor, can you please DM me your addresses again. The ink has somehow smudged in my journal on the street numbers of your addresses.

... I sooooo want to put up my tree and start wrapping my presents.
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What I Just Finished Reading: I stuck with my goal to alternate between library books, prompt books, and Dusty Bookshelf/Finish What You Started books. I read four books this week. The Hatching, Skitter, and Zero Day by Ezekiel Boone (library books), as well as Weird Things People Say in Bookstores by Jen Campbell (dusty bookshelf). Reviews below.

What I'm Reading Right Now: I'm about 1/3 through The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes (prompt book). It's a little uneven but I'm enjoying it for the most part.

What I'm Planning to Read Next: All the library books are done for now, so I'll alternate between Dusty Bookshelf, Finish What You Started, and prompts. Among the next three will be Every Last Secret by AR Torre (dusty bookshelf), Tales of Old Earth by Michael Swanwick (prompt) and Fire & Ash by Jonathan Maberry (FWYS). OH. And Joe Hill has a short story out that I'll read once I'm done by current book, called Ushers.

( 127. The Hatching by Ezekiel BooneCollapse )

( 128. Skitter by Ezekiel BooneCollapse )

( 129. Zero Day by Ezekiel BooneCollapse )

( 130. Weird Things People Say In Bookstores by Jen CampbellCollapse )
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What I Just Finished Reading: Three books this week, but only one good one. I read Goblin by Josh Malerman, The Perfect Guy Doesn't Exist by Sophie Gonzalez, and The Dead Lands by Benjamin Percy. Reviews below.

I also DNF'ed Dungeon Crawler Carl, that "litrpg" book. It was EXACTLY like a video game, with dialogue that basically consisted of setting up the rules and then huge chunks where it's just the character, like, opening up the things he's won. Like, "Congrats, you killed a gremlin. You've earned blah blah blah, insert unfunny joke here." Really awful.

What I'm Reading Right Now: I'm close to finishing The Hatching by Ezekiel Boone, the spider story, which is super good and creepy and UGH BUGS.

What I'm Planning to Read Next: I think I'm going to alternate between library books, the last 3 books I need to read for my bingo prompts, and my Dusty Bookshelf and/or Finish What You Started books. So probably between Skitter (second book of the Hatching series, library book), The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes (bingo pick), and Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops by Jen Campbell (dusty bookshelf).

( 124. Goblin by Josh MalermanCollapse )

( 125. The Perfect Guy Doesn't Exist by Sophie GonzalezCollapse )

( 126. The Dead Lands by Benjamin PercyCollapse )
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What I Just Finished Reading: Three books this week: Stinger by Robert McCammon, Annie Bot by Sierra Greer, and Confessions of a Bookseller by Shaun Bythell. Reviews below.

I also DNF'ed Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff. Let me tell you why. First, the book is a tell (he's literally telling his story to a scribe) so there is absolutely NO sense of immediacy or suspense. Two, it's HORRIBLY overwritten. There is enough purple prose to fertilize ten gardens. But the tipping point for me involves... a movie from 1984 called Red Dawn. It's a bit of a cheesefest with Patrick Swayze and Charlie Sheen, and I adore it. It's about a group of teenagers who hide out and fight back guerrila-style when their town is taken over by Russians. WOLVERINES!

Anyway. At one point in the movie there's a kid that's creepily obsessed with killing the Russians. They've met up with a downed American fighter pilot, and their dialogue goes something like this:

Pilot: All that hate will burn you up, kid.
Kid: It keeps me warm.

So, back to Empire of the Vampire. I'm reading away, rolling my eyes at the crap writing, when I come across this exchange between the scribe and the vampire hunter:

Scribe: Too much hate will burn a man to cinders, chevalier.
Vampire Hunter: But at least he'll die warm.

I MEAN. Who steals from RED DAWN of all freakin' movies? Come on. I'd have thrown it if it wasn't a library book.

What I'm Reading Right Now: I've started Dungeon Crawler Carl, which is apparently a (new?) genre called "litrpg", which is like the prose equivalent of a video game? It has begun with literally the world destroyed and most people killed, and the survivors must compete in an 18 level dungeon, earning prizes and entertaining people watching in order to build an audience. ... I don't know. I'm going to give it another night of reading before I decide to continue or not.

(Carl is in the dungeon with a cat that I have heard learns to talk, so I am going to try to at least get that far.)

What I'm Planning to Read Next: It'll either be a library book I picked up about mutated spiders (I HATE BUGS AND AM TERRIFIED OF THEM, WHY DID I DO THIS) called The Hatching by Ezekiel Boone, or one of my bingo prompt books, either The Perfect Guy Doesn't Exist for a palate cleanser or Goblin if I want to get scared.

( 121. Stinger by Robert McCammonCollapse )

( 122. Annie Bot by Sierra GreerCollapse )

( 123. Confessions of a Bookseller by Shaun BythellCollapse )
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What I Just Finished Reading: I had a much better week this week, finishing 3 books: Diary of a Bookseller by Shaun Bythell, Nettle and Bone by T. Kingfisher, and Meredith, Alone by Claire Alexander. Reviews below.

I did end up DNFing the anthology I was reading.

What I'm Reading Right Now: I'm almost done Stinger by Robert McCammon, one of a few McCammon books that came available on KU, and it's fun delving into a bit of the pulpy fiction of the '80s.

What I'm Planning on Reading Next: Next up for sure will be Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff. Looking forward to it.

( 118. Diary of a Bookseller by Shaun BythellCollapse )

( 119. Nettle & Bone by T. KingfisherCollapse )

( 120. Meredith, Alone by Claire AlexanderCollapse )
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What I Just Finished Reading: Only one book this week, The Reformatory by Tananarive Due. Review below. I actually had four days in a row where I didn't read at all, UGH.

What I'm Reading Right Now: I'm reading an anthology called Down These Strange Streets, billed as 'urban fantasy.' So far it's a LOT of Sam Spade '40s style detectives mixed with the supernatural, and I've only liked one story out of the 8 I've read. Pretty sure I'm going to be DNFing this one. Life is too short.

What I'm Planning to Read Next: Decisions, decisions. I still have two library books out. One is 700+ pages (Empire of the Vampire), so I know I'm saving that until next weekend when I can devote some time to it. (This weekend is Canadian Thanksgiving.) Then I have Diary of a Bookseller by Shaun Bythell. I also want to focus on my prompts and my Dusty Bookshelf pick. Hmm. Will have to think about it.

( 117. The Reformatory by Tananarive DueCollapse )
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What I Just Finished Reading: I had a good week. Three books and a novella: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson, The Gentle Art of Fortune Hunting by KJ Charles, Notes on a Zombie by Daniel Betts, and The Whisper Man by Alex North. Reviews below.

What I'm Reading Right Now: I'm 20% through The Reformatory by Tananarive Due. Her writing is excellent but I find it a little cliched.

What I'm Planning to Read Next: I've got two physical books awaiting pick up at the library, so probably one of those. I may go with Diary of a Bookseller first.

( 113. The Final Empire by Brandon SandersonCollapse )

( 114. The Gentle Art of Fortune Hunting by KJ CharlesCollapse )

( 115. Notes on a Zombie by Daniel BettsCollapse )

( 116. The Whisper Man by Alex NorthCollapse )
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What I Just Finished Reading: Only one book (not sure how that happened) but it was a great one: Somewhere Beyond the Sea by TJ Klune. Review below.

I also DNFed The Only Purple House in Town by Ann Aguirre. I found it very sloppily written and it felt rushed.

What I'm Reading Right Now: I'm about 3/4 through the first book of the Mistborn series, The Final Empire. I'm liking it, but I think it could use a good edit.

What I'm Planning to Read Next: I'm planning a trip to Toronto to visit a friend so I'll be on a train for about 2.5 hours total (there and back) so I'm going to need to pick a kindle book, and my most recent library books are physical. It'll be a surprise.

( 112. Somewhere Beyond The Sea by TJ KluneCollapse )